Christmas Catechism 06 (Final 74-84)

74. Where did Joseph take Jesus and his mother after this?
He took them down to Egypt.
75. Why did he do that?
He was warned to do so in a dream by an angel of the Lord who told him Herod wanted to kill the child.
76. Which prophecy does Matthew say the escape to Egypt fulfilled?
Out of Egypt I called my son.
77. Which prophet made that prophecy?
It was the prophet Hosea.
78. When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, how did he react?
He was furious and gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two and under.
79. Which prophecy does Matthew say this slaughter fulfilled?
A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.
80. Which prophet made that prophecy?
It was the prophet Jeremiah.
81. How did Joseph know it was safe to return to Israel?
God told him in a dream that Herod was dead.
82. Where did Jesus grow up?
In Nazareth in Galilee.
83. What does Luke say about his growing up?
He grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom; God's grace of God was on him.
84. What else does Luke say about his growing up?
He grew in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man.

Christmas Catechism 05 (61-73)

61. Who else did they meet at that time?
A very old widow, a prophet called Anna who lived at the Temple.
62. What did she do when she saw the baby?
She gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
63. Who came to see Jesus later when he was a little older?
Magi from the east.
64. How did the Magi know Messiah had been born?
They saw his star when it rose and wanted to worship him.
65. Where did the Magi go first?
To Jerusalem.
66. How did they know that they needed to go to Bethlehem?
They were old Messiah would be born there as it is written in the prophecy of Micah.
67. How did King Herod react to the news that Messiah had been born?
He was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him.
68. After they were told Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, what did Herod tell the Magi to do?
He told them to go there and report back to him.
69. Why did they not report back?
Because they were warned by God in a dream not to do so.
70. How did they know where in Bethlehem Jesus was?
Because the star they had seen went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
71. How did they react when they saw the star?
They were overjoyed.
72. What did they do when they came to the house where Jesus and Mary were?
They bowed down and worshipped him.

73. What presents did they give him from their treasures?
Gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Christmas Catechism 04 (39-60)

39. Who came to see Messiah on the night he was born?

Some shepherds who were living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

40. How did they know that Messiah had been born?

An angel of the Lord appeared to them and told them the good news.

41. What did the angels say from the sky?

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.

42. When they had seen the baby in the manger what did the shepherds do?

They spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.

43. How did people who heard about it react?

They were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

44. Hows Luke tell us Mary reacted to all this?

She treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

45. What else are we told about the shepherds?

That they returned to their fields, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

46. What happened to the baby when he was eight days old?

He was circumcised and he was given a name.

47. What name did they give to the baby?

They named him Jesus.

48. Why did they give him the name Jesus?

Because God told Joseph and Mary to do so and because he would save his people from their sins.

49. Matthew tells us that all this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through which prophet?

Through Isaiah.

50. Which verse does Matthew have especially in mind?

The one where Isaiah says the virgin would conceive and give birth to a son and they would call him Immanuel ("God with us").

51. When Jesus was six weeks old where did Mary and Joseph take him?

To the Temple in Jerusalem.

52. Why did they take him there?

To present him to the Lord as a first born son, in obedience to the law.

53. What sacrifice did they make for him?

A pair of doves or two young pigeons, the offering of poor people.

54. What was the name of the man they met at the Temple?

His name was Simeon.

55. What are we told about this man?

He was righteous and devout; he was waiting for the consolation of Israel; the Holy Spirit was on him.

56. What else are we told about him?

God had told him he would see Messiah before he died.

57. What did Simeon do when he saw the baby Jesus?

He took him in his arms and praised God that he had seen God's salvation

58. How did Joseph and Mary react to this?

They marvelled at what was said about him.

59. What did Simeon say to them about the child?

He told them he was destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts would be revealed.

60. What did he add?

And a sword will pierce your own soul too.

Christmas Catechism 03 (25-38)

25. How many natures does Messiah have and what are they?

Jesus has two natures, a divine nature and a human nature.

26. How many persons does Messiah have?

He is just one person.

27. What did Joseph decide to do about the fact that Mary was pregnant and he was not the father?

He decided to divorce her quietly so that she would not be publicly disgraced.

28. Why did he not divorce her in the end?

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him to marry Mary as the child was from the Holy Spirit.

29. What are we told in the very last verse of Matthew Chapter 1?

That Joseph did not sleep with Mary until after her baby was born.

30. Where was Messiah born?

In Bethlehem in Judea.

31. Who was ruling over the Jews at the time when Messiah was born?

The Romans.

32. What was the name of the Roman Emperor at that time?

He was called Caesar Augustus.

33. What decree did he issue that meant that Messiah was born in Bethlehem?

He issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

34. What important rule did he make about where people should register?

He decreed that everyone should go to their own town to register.

35. What did Joseph have to do to register?

He had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and move to Bethlehem in Judea.

36. What famous king was from that place and was one of Joseph's ancestors?

King David.

37. What did Mary do for her baby when he was born?

She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger.

38. Why was he put in a manger and not in a bed?

Because there was no guest room available for them in Bethlehem.

Christmas Catechism 02 (13-24)

13. What was the name of Messiah's mother? She was called Mary.

14. What was the name of the man she was pledged to be married to? His name was Joseph.

15. Where did they live? In Nazareth in Galilee.

16. How did Mary became pregnant? Through the Holy Spirit. He overshadowed her so that although she had never been with any man she was able to become pregnant with the holy one, the Son of God.

17. Who told Mary she was going to have a baby? The angel Gabriel.

18. What did Gabriel say about the baby she would give birth to? He would be great and called Son of the Most High; God would give him the throne of his father David and he would reign over God's people forever, his kingdom never ending.

19. How did Mary first react to this news? She humbly accepted it by faith.

20. How did she react later on? She wrote a song about God's kindness to her and to his people. It is found in Luke 1.

21. What word do we use for the fact God became man and was born a man on earth? We call it the incarnation.

22. How does John refer to Messiah before his birth? He calls him the word.

23. What does he say about the word at the beginning of his Gospel? The word was with God and he was God.

24. What does he then say about the word? That the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

Christmas Catechism 01 (1-12)

In recent years I have come up with a Christmas Catechism that takes you through the Christmas story in a series of 84 questions and answers. Here are the first twelve.

CHRISTMAS CATECHISM

1. Who was the prophet immediately before Messiah? John the Baptist

2. What were his parents called and where did they live? Zechariah and Elizabeth; they lived in Hebron

3. How did they learn that John was going to be born to them? The angel Gabriel told Zechariah when he was doing his priestly duties at the Temple in Jerusalem

4. Why was this surprising news? Because Zechariah and Elizabeth were old and had never been able to have children

5. What was Zechariah's reaction to the news that he would have a son? It was a bad one. He did not believe it.

6. What was his later better reaction after John was born? He wrote a song praising God. It is in Luke 1.

7. How did John react when, still in the womb, he was near Messiah in his mother's womb? His mother Elizabeth felt him leap for joy

8. In his Gospel Matthew begins with a family tree of Messiah going all the way back to who? Matthew goes all the way back to Abraham

9. In his Gospel Luke has a family tree of Messiah that goes all the way back as far as who? Luke goes all the way back to Adam

10. What are the names of some of those who appear in both family trees? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and David

11. What are the names of the four women who are included in Matthew's family tree? Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and the wife of Uriah

12. How does Matthew divide his family tree? 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the exile and 14 from the exile to Messiah